The life of a student teacher
Meghan Tierney
Shayna Lampe sits slumped in front of her computer in the humdrum limbo of a late Wednesday afternoon, settled in for a long night in a hopelessly cluttered room and a stomach full of Chinese take-out. Fatigue still shows persistently through her face despite a wide smile and a perky voice. However, this is all about to change.
“My favorite part about teaching is the kids’ excitement, the look on their faces when they finally understand something,” says Lampe, her eyes bright, hands gesticulating excitedly. “When they don’t get it you can tell, and when they do get it, you can tell, too.”
Juggling alternate lives as both a student and teacher, Lampe is in her final semester at the University of Maryland, College Park, and works five days a week as a 3rd grade teacher at Viers Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md.
The 21-year-old senior does the unthinkable for many college students- she wakes up at 5:50 in the morning five days a week in order to prepare her classroom for when school opens at 7:30. After the final bell of the day rings, she goes home to work on grading papers and creating lesson plans for the next day, tasks that take anywhere from two to seven hours a night.
One night a week she has a class of her own to attend, three solid hours of lecture, and on many days she is working on her own homework assignments.
Lampe is a full time student teacher, earning internship credits in order to complete her diploma. She spent the fall semester observing the class two days a week, and getting a feel for the classroom atmosphere. This semester, she spends a full work week at the school. She began by conducting a few lessons here and there, and now has the sole responsibility of teaching her class, without the presence of another teacher, save for the occasional observer.
“It was hard to adjust to the early mornings,” she said, the grin still stretched across her cheeks. “I do so much work at night that I never get to sleep at the time I need to.”
Another obstacle was overcoming the language barrier between her and some of her young pupils. Montgomery County has the highest immigrant population in the state, and Viers Mill is no exception. It is a Title I school, which means it is low income and has a high ESOL population. Hispanic students make up over half the school’s population, many of them with parents that can’t speak English.
Lampe, whose floor is littered with official looking forms and colorful pictures and notes made by students, is trying to pick up some bit of Spanish from her kids. Her students teach her words and phrases, like “raise your hand,” and she hopes it will encourage them to go home and help their parents begin to learn English.
“I just want my kids to know they can do whatever they want to do,” said Lampe. “I don’t want them to leave my class thinking that something can defeat them. I don’t want them to give up on anything, even if it’s hard.”
Sometimes, Lampe gives her students notes too, notes for encouragement, notes that are perhaps saved just like the ones they made for their young teacher.
“I like the challenge of bringing out their abilities,” she said. “I try to keep things fun and interesting for them. You know, they’re still so impressionable. They want to learn.”
Lampe is most happy and at ease talking about her job, and it’s no surprise that she first decided she wanted to teach when she was no older than her students.
“My third grade teacher was the first person who really cared about me,” she said. “From then on, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Everything I wrote about in class was about how much I wanted to be a teacher. Everything.”
It’s a job that needs more people that are willing to make this kind of impact. According to TeachersCount.org, nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession after their fifth year, and 16 percent of all teachers leave every year. There is a teacher shortage all over the country, so people like Lampe have found themselves in greater demand than ever.
Lampe started out by watching the neighborhood kids while they were playing outside before graduating to baby-sitting when she was 11. Now, her career has come full circle, from being motivated and inspired by the affection of a teacher to becoming one herself.
In her new role, she tries to make an impact in the lives of her students, too, knowing exactly how much of a difference one teacher can make.
“The kids feel comfortable coming to me with any family problems,” she said. “Being in a Title I school, it’s hard hearing about the bad things going on in some of their home lives.
“But I’m just
always trying to make that connection. If I’ve touched at least one kid’s
life, then I’ve done my job.”
